Of Cherry Blossoms and Copy Cats
by nostalgic-maiden
Summary: 30 different kisses. 30 different facets of the lives of Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura.
1. Our Distance and That Person

**Of Cherry Blossoms and Copy Cats **

* * *

**Title: **Watching From Afar**  
Author/Artist: **nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi/Haruno Sakura**  
Fandom: **Naruto**  
Theme: **#4 – Our Distance and that Person**  
Disclaimer: **Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Done for LiveJournal's 30 Kisses challenge. Enjoy :)

* * *

He had always been in the background. 

When she was a young girl, her life revolved around Uchiha Sasuke.

And then, when Sasuke left, it revolved around training.

And then, when their team went on another Sasuke-retrieval mission (without him), it revolved around Uchiha Sasuke once again.

But maybe, that was his own fault. After all, back when they were still genin, he had, admittedly, paid more attention to the one who he thought had the most potential. This person happened to be Sasuke. So while he knew that Sakura could possibly, if steered in the right direction, become a great kunoichi, he chose to let her fade into the background and concentrate on the dark-haired Uchiha.

Mistake.

He would only admit it years after, but singling out Uchiha Sasuke instead of paying equal attention to Naruto and Sakura as well was a huge mistake on his part.

Disappearing on month-long, consecutive S-class missions after Sasuke left was also a mistake on his part.

But maybe that mistake had helped trigger Sakura's initiative to ask Tsunade for training. Surely, without the Godaime's guidance, Sakura would never have become such an accomplished kunoichi.

Long gone is the bubbly young girl who used to be on Team 7. That girl died the moment Uchiha Sasuke defected from Konoha. But in her place bloomed a strong and willful kunoichi.

It should've been a good thing.

Too bad he fell in love with that strong and willful kunoichi.

He isn't certain when it happened. Maybe it began to start when he first saw how strong and determined she had become. Maybe it got helped along when he saw how her confidence was unwavering, even when she was told that she would never be as beautiful as Ino or as graceful as Hinata or as charismatic as Tenten or as bold as Temari.

Somewhere along the way, Haruno Sakura learned that it was alright to live for herself, and it was not alright to kiss the ground on which her idols walked on. It was around that time that Sakura began to soar, reaching heights that no one had expected her to be even able to see.

But now, it is too late.

Years have passed since Sasuke left Konoha. He achieved his lifetime goal. He returned to Konoha. And once again, he became the person Sakura's life revolved around.

Except this time, it wasn't only she who was revolving around someone. Sasuke and Sakura became like twin stars, captivated by each other, their lives revolving around each other and each other only.

He should have been happy for her – after all, Sakura finally got to be with her first and only love, and Sasuke got a chance to experience love at its best.

But on the inside, he was bitter.

Because no matter what, he would never be able to outdo Sasuke.

Because no matter what, Sakura's heart would forever be out of his reach.

Because no matter how talented, how accomplished, how respected he was, Sakura wouldn't notice.

Just like he hadn't noticed Sakura's hidden potential, how he had chosen to ignore her inner turmoil when she needed him the most, now he had been pushed to the back burner of Sakura's life.

Because he wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, he could only watch as his beautiful cherry blossom was plucked by someone else. But though Hatake Kakashi wasn't the one a blossom named Haruno Sakura chose, the sweet scent of that flower would remain in his memory forever.

* * *

**  
**


	2. 10

**Title:** Gradual  
**Author: **nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi/Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom: **Naruto  
**Theme:** #10 - #10  
**Disclaimer: **Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Written for LiveJournal's 30 Kisses challenge. Enjoy!

* * *

1. Sakura was ten, and still an Academy student, when she first set her eyes upon Kakashi. But at that time, he was just yet another jounin to stroll down the Konoha streets. 

2. Sakura had heard about this Hatake Kakshi, the famed Copy-nin Kakashi – the man who would be her sensei. Her high expectations for him promptly crashed in less than ten seconds of her seeing his masked face walk through the door, right into Naruto's lame eraser trap.

3. Kakashi decided ten minutes into their first meeting that she was a hopeless case – too embroiled within her infatuation with an obviously disinterested boy to be able to become a capable kunoichi.

4. Sakura proved him wrong ten days later when she was the only one out of his three-man cell able to walk up a tree. He was the first to see her potential.

5. Kakashi left on a ten-week, A-ranked mission shortly after Sasuke's defection to Sound. When he came back, he was astounded by the change in Sakura. He could tell she would never be broken as easily again. And quite frankly, he liked that idea.

6. Ten days after her seventeenth birthday was Konoha's annual sakura-viewing festival. Sakura looked ravishing; a cherry blossom in full bloom.

7. Ten days after the festival, Kakashi came to a conclusion: he was in love. With someone he shouldn't have fallen in love with.

8. On a mission ten months later, Kakashi was shocked to hear his name coming out of a pink-haired kunoichi's mouth while sleeping.

9. Ten days before Kakashi's thirty-second birthday, a determined and flushed Sakura marched right up to his doorstep. And kissed him senseless when he opened the door.

10. Ten years after Kakashi took Sakura under his wing as the leader of Team 7, Kakashi proposed. Sakura accepted. And that was the end, or rather, beginning, of that.

* * *


	3. The Space Between Dream and Reality

**Title:** Together  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi x Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme: **#6 – the space between dream and reality  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and co. belong to Kishimoto-sensei, I am just borrowing them for my own writing pleasure.

**a/n: **Done for LiveJournal's 30 Kisses challenge. Enjoy XD

* * *

Apart from them, no one knows. 

She knows why it is like that – people would talk, it was considered taboo, their reputations would go down the drain…the list goes on and on.

These days, she feels very insecure about herself. Each day, she lives in fear that he will leave, that someone will find out about them, and that they won't live to see each other again.

She is a kunoichi; he is a shinobi. Both know that their lives can end at any given moment. That had been a driving force in their relationship. _Time doesn't stop for us, _they had told each other. _We have to treasure the moments spent together._

So when she was twenty and he was thirty-four, they moved in together. No one knew, of course. Sakura's place left no evidence that someone else was living there and Kakashi's place was just as messy and unkempt as ever, so no one suspected that he never came home anymore.

She isn't sure when they started to see each other that way. Maybe it was when she finally realized that Sasuke was a lost cause that she began to open her eyes to new possibilities. Maybe it was when he had finally opened his eyes to the fact that she was truly a kunoichi, a capable female. Maybe it was when she realized that the aching loneliness often found in his one dark eye was mirrored in her own jade ones. Maybe it was when he realized that she was like a broken porcelain doll, just like the way he was broken on the inside too. But somehow they came together and crashed and collided and now they just…are.

When she dreams, she enters her own fantasy world. A world where she and her lover are accepted, a world where they didn't have to hide and feel ashamed. A world where they could publicly show their affection, and a world where they could truly be together.

And when she awakes, she knows that her dreams will never become her reality. In her world, all that remains is

blood [it stains her hands

war [she can see the two sides crashing into each other

crying [she doesn't want to drown in the tears of the world

kunai [they clash, and sparks fly

and…him.

Sometimes, it comforts her to know that no matter what happens, as long as nothing happens to him, there will always be a warm body to curl up beside on bad days. Sometimes, she wonders whether or not he will one day become another piece of emotional baggage in her heart. She hopes not, for he is a good man, one of the best she has ever come across.

In spite of all the uncertainties and darkness, she knows she loves him. And in that space between dreams and reality, she knows that he loves her too. When she is in bed with him beside her, just about to fall asleep, she feels a tender kiss on her brow. The kiss is not sad or tired, like it usually is when they are awake. The kiss is not perfectly sweet and loving, like they usually are in her dreams.

But it is real.

And that's all that matters.

* * *


	4. Ano sa, ano sa

**Title:** Last Night  
**Author/Artist:** kasenshiki  
**Pairing: **Hatake Kakashi x Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #5 – "ano sa"  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I would like to.

* * *

"Ano sa, ano sa!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping in front of his mask-wearing, porn-reading sensei.

"What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi inquired, not bothering to stop walking or to look up from his latest _Icha Icha_ book.

"Guess what, guess what?" Naruto continued, not at all surprised that his teacher still wasn't looking at him.

"Hm?"

"Last night, a _guy_ stayed over at Sakura-chan's house!" he announced, his expression caught between glee and horror.

Kakashi stopped walking and looked at the nineteen-year-old jounin in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "And what is so interesting about that?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What do you mean 'what's so interesting about that'? This is _Sakura-chan_ I'm talking about here. You know, the one who loves to beat me up for being perverted? And now, some guy and her probably did you-know-what last night and-"

"You're just making assumptions," Kakashi pointed out. "What if Sakura and that guy were just having tea and making conversation?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi as if he were stupid. "Kakashi-sensei, have you ever _seen_ Sakura-chan drink tea?"

Chuckling sheepishly, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and replied, "Well, not really…"

It was common knowledge in Konoha that Sakura could out-drink anyone. Apart from Tsunade, of course. But Tsunade was the one who _got_ Sakura into drinking, so it was no surprise.

"But Naruto, who did you hear it from? If it was from someone like Kiba-kun, I'm not sure you can believe it…"

"I _saw_, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi nearly dropped his book in surprise. Eye(s) widened, he asked, "What did you say?"

It was Naruto's turn to look sheepish as he said, "Well, not exactly _saw,_ but I _did_ see Sakura-chan and some guy making out while trying to get into her apartment. But when I went by her house this morning, he was gone. And she wouldn't tell me anything. See, she even punched me for asking her," Naruto pointed to the rather obvious bump his head was sporting.

"I see…" Kakashi said, his expression normal again as they resumed walking.

"I wonder who it is," Naruto mused, eyes narrowed. "Sai-teme and I are itching to give that guy a good beating."

Kakashi looked up briefly from his book at Naruto, but didn't comment.

"I was a little bit drunk last night, so I couldn't really see him clearly. But he was about…your height, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began, reaching up slightly to measure Kakashi. "And I'm pretty sure I saw a flak vest, so he's gotta be a jounin…his hair was really messy too, although I'm not sure whether or not Sakura-chan did that…"

Kakashi tuned out the blond next to him, but he was no longer immersed in the book within his hands. No, Kakashi was thinking about the night before. The night when, one chaste kiss had somehow become something much more passionate. Something that irreversibly changed his relationship with a certain kunoichi fourteen years his junior.

He'd never tell Naruto this, but Kakashi really didn't need to ask Naruto all those pointless questions.

After all, it was _him_ Naruto had seen in his drunken daze last night, and it was _he _who had cleverly climbed out Sakura's window that morning.

* * *


	5. Wada Calcium CD3

**Title:** Excuses  
**Author/Artist: **nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #28 – Wada Calcium CD3  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto and co, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

"You _really_ have to be more careful, Kakashi," Sakura admonished, as the green glow her hand, which was hovering over his previously broken arm, diminished and faded.

"I know, Sakura-chan," Kakashi cheerfully replied, giving her his trademark eye crinkle smile.

Sighing in exasperation and amusement, Sakura smiled back and said, "Okay, you're free to go, but next time, _please_ don't jump into those crazy challenges Gai-san throws at you. You should've known that trying to punch down a rocky cliff would get you hurt."

"But _you_ could do it, Sakura-chan," Kakashi whined, in a particularly accurate impersonation of Naruto.

"Sorry Kakashi, but you _know_ I've got you beat in chakra control and strength," Sakura replied, shaking her head at the absurdity of Kakashi's excuse.

Kakashi mumbled something indistinct and made to get up, but an outstretched hand stopped him. Smiling sweetly, Sakura pressed a jar of something into his hand and said, "I think your bones are getting weaker, Kakashi, so as your medic, I'm ordering you to take this Wada Calcium CD3 supplement _every_ day before you go to bed, okay?"

"Are you calling me old?" Kakashi asked, a highly affronted look on his masked face.

Giggling like the child she used to be, Sakura answered, "Maybe…"

"Oh, what happened to the respect she used to have for me," Kakashi moaned, in self-pity.

"Dissolved the moment your shocked face came up from the ground I had punched apart," Sakura airily replied, turning around to make some last notes on her clipboard.

Mumbling incoherently again, Kakashi stepped out the door, only to have Sakura call out, "And you'd BETTER take them, or I will SHOVE them down your throat!"

Fearing for his life, or better put, esophagus, Kakashi fairly ran down the hall and out of the hospital. Outside, he was met with the sight of a bawling Gai, who was going on and on about being 'sorry for causing Kakashi to waste his time of youth in the hospital' and such. Kakashi ignored his long-time rival and strolled in the direction of Ichiraku, where, just as he predicted, Naruto was busy slurping up ramen.

Seeing the bottle of pills in Kakashi's hand, Naruto rolled his eyes and said, "You did it again, didn't you?"

"Did what?" Kakashi innocently replied, setting himself down in a stool beside Naruto.

"Got yourself in the hospital just as an excuse to see Sakura-chan," snorted Naruto, who was once again immersed in his ramen.

"And why would I do that?" Kakashi asked, giving Naruto a droopy-eyed smile.

"So she can kiss it better," Naruto taunted, clearly extremely amused at the thought of his ex-sensei having the hots for his best friend.

Kakashi snorted as well, although he didn't deny Naruto's comment, and proceeded to order his favourite ramen.

"Honestly, Kakashi-sensei, you _really _don't need an excuse to see Sakura-chan," Naruto said, after finishing his bowl with a loud smack of lips. "She likes you too, anyone can tell that."

Kakashi didn't answer, but pondered that thought – perhaps _next_ time, he would go to the hospital _without_ an injury as an excuse to see her.

* * *


	6. Look Over Here!

**Title:** Bad Influence  
**Author/Artist: **nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom: **Naruto  
**Theme: #1 – **look over here! **  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and co, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was, overall, a very smart man. He knew, most of the time, what was appropriate (his books do _not_ count), what wasn't; what was smart, what wasn't. He also happened to know that in some circumstances, running away was _not_ an example of cowardice.

Boy, was _this_ one of those times.

He was in BIG trouble.

With his pink-haired girlfriend.

"I ask you to watch my class for one hour – ONE HOUR – and I come back and find that you're reading Icha Icha ALOUD to them!" Sakura screeched, utterly overcome by rage.

He knew he would dig himself into a deeper hole if he said anything, so he did the first thing that came to mind. Jamming an open Icha Icha right up to her nose, Kakashi said, "Look over here!"

Within Sakura's one second reaction of disgust at the crude image, Kakashi had safely transported himself back home.

He'd really prefer to kiss the soft carpet than the hard ground when Sakura's fist said "hi" to his head.

* * *


	7. Perfect Blue

**Title:** Five Days  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi/Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #15 – perfect blue  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

On Monday, it rained. Kakashi laughed at Sakura when she fell into a puddle during training and she refused to talk to him again. Kakashi suspected her PMS was making things worse. 

On Tuesday, it poured. Sakura spent the whole day with cramps that threatened to tear her in two. To make things worse, there was an entire emergency room full of patients needing care and she hadn't had lunch yet and Ino wanted to go drinking with her again and Tsunade-sama was going to be on her case if she dawdled any more and Kakashi still hadn't called.

On Wednesday, there was a thunderstorm. The power went out at the hospital and she had been in the middle of a rather delicate surgery and when she got home late at night, dead tired, she looked in the fridge and discovered that everything had gone bad. And Kakashi still hadn't called.

On Thursday, clouds completely covered the sky. An ANBU mission gone wrong had sent a wave of heavily injured ANBU into the emergency room and Sakura had her hands full with rather horrific injuries and Tsunade-sama was in one of her "moods" again and to make things worse, Shizune was away with Genma and Raidou on a mission and wasn't available to placate the Hokage and as soon as Sakura escaped from the hospital she had to spend an hour clearing out the fridge and while she was buying groceries some rude pervert touched her ass and she beat him down and ended up apologizing to the store owner for demolishing his floor and Kakashi still hadn't called.

On Friday, Sakura discovered that the power cord to her answering machine had been unplugged. When she plugged it in, she discovered a dozen messages from Kakashi, all in varying degrees of sweetness, and the last one went something along the lines of, "Sakura, if I don't hear from you by Friday, I am coming over to set things straight." And as soon as she finished listening to the message, Sakura heard the telltale _click_ of an opening lock and Kakashi was in her apartment. Before he said anything, she had launched herself in his arms and wailed that she was just being stupid and that she wasn't really that mad at him and oh please please let him not be mad and-

Kakashi silenced her with a finger on her lips and told her he loved her.

She kissed him.

When they broke apart, Sakura winced because the sunlight filtering through her window was in her eyes.

The sky was the perfect shade of blue.

* * *


	8. Red

**Title:** Musings  
**Author/Artist: **nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom: **Naruto  
**Theme: **#19 - red  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto & co., no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Sorry for the lateness! I've been playing piano non-stop (damn those exams!) for a while :P

* * *

He knew he was screwed over the moment he caught sight of her that evening.

Damn that shiny, red lipstick on her lips. And that too-short, too-tight, too-perfect black halter dress she wore. And those strappy black heels that just seemed to make her legs look like they went on for an eternity. Damn it all.

It was as if she was summoned from his own personal hell to drive him crazy – after all, it was generally _unaccepted_ for a teacher to be lusting after his own student. Well…ex-student. Did they make exceptions for ex-students? Kakashi didn't know.

Turning away from his thoughts to look once again upon the pink-haired kunoichi, Kakashi idly wondered whether she was _allowed_ to wear such…revealing clothing at her jounin inauguration. Looking around at the other females around the room, he was inclined to think that she was.

Kakashi was surrounded by a multitude of young females, all of whom were wearing low-cut, high-hemline, tight-fitting dresses. Or skirts. With heels. Some of whom were shamelessly trying to flirt with him. And other male jounin in the room. One even had the audacity to blow a kiss at him.

He turned away.

Since when had he begun to notice Sakura in _that_ way? It was a rather uncomfortable feeling, yet he _liked_ it. It was another secret added to the huge pile he already had. Just another thing people would never find out about.

After all, it was likely a passing fancy. In a week, he would forget about his only female student and go on to other women – preferably ones who were of age. And in a couple of months, perhaps he would be able to look back at himself now and laugh about it. And maybe save it as a story of "what-never-to-do" for his future genin teams.

But then again, maybe Kakashi was only deceiving himself.

After all, he hadn't had a "passing fancy" since _Icha Icha_ came out.

* * *


	9. Candy

**Title:** Diet  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #23 - candy  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and co., no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: ** Sorry for the long wait! This is a double post to make up for it :P But I do have to say, both of these are only vaguely KakaSaku - not quite the blatantly romantic ones I am so fond of writing. I'm trying out new styles :D

* * *

Sakura was on a diet.

It was another one of those things that Ino had pressured her into doing.

But oh, how she wanted that candy bar!

It was sitting right there in the window of that beautifully stocked candy shop – the very best in Konoha. And Sakura was right across the street at the Yamanaka Flower Store, keeping shop for Ino while the blond-haired kunoichi went for a last-minute Academy teacher meeting.

Sakura decided that it wouldn't hurt to just _look_ at the candy, so seeing that there was no customers at the moment, she quietly stepped out and crossed the street.

And then the goodies were right in front of her face and she could feel the salivary glands working overtime as her eyes roved over the products.

There were jellybeans and sour-coated gummies; creamy toffee squares and lollipops of every colour imaginable; piles of chocolate kisses and boxes of fudge – it was almost too much for Sakura to bear.

"Sakura?"

Sakura nearly jumped in surprise and turned, startled, to face the one who had addressed her.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Said jounin smiled at her and then turned to where her eyes had abruptly returned.

"Why are you looking so longingly at those?" Kakashi asked, curious. After all, Sakura was usually one who liked to get what she wanted, so why would she be denying herself some sweet treats?

"Ino-pig's got me on a diet, and she'll kill me if she finds out I've bought something," Sakura confessed, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Knowing her, she's probably bribed the storeowner into not selling me anything."

Kakashi chuckled. "Does she have _that_ little faith in you?"

Sakura looked away sheepishly and answered, "Well…I _do_ have a bad habit of giving up on diets half way to stuff myself full of unhealthy stuff…"

"Hm…" Kakashi looked thoughtfully at the young medic, and then back at the store. Snapping the open book in his hands shut, he turned to Sakura and said, "Wait here."

He stepped inside the store and came out two minutes later with a small package in his gloved hands.

"Here you go," he smiled, handing Sakura the package.

Inside were chocolate kisses – Sakura's absolute favourite.

Sakura squealed in delight and launched herself at her ex-teacher, saying, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly and patted her on the head, saying, "Eh, no problem."

Sakura released him and opened the package, offering him one before unwrapping another and popping it into her mouth.

"And I really don't think you need to lose those pounds, Sakura," Kakashi said, chewing thoughtfully on the chocolate. "You're perfect the way you are."

Sakura couldn't help but avert her eyes and blush hotly as she gave him a murmured, "Thanks."


	10. Overflow

**Title:** Two's Company  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom: **Naruto**  
Theme:** #27 - overflow  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and co., no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Yay for double post :D

* * *

It wasn't an unusual sight to see Haruno Sakura sitting in a pub drinking – she wasn't the apprentice of the sake-loving Godaime for nothing. What _was_ unusual, however, was the fact that she was very much alone, compounded by the fact she wasn't even sitting at the regular shinobi bar, but rather, at a civilian one.

Kakashi had been surprised to find his former student sitting listlessly by herself on a bar stool, stirring her drink pensively – last time he had checked, Sakura was quite popular and on good terms with mostly everybody she hung around. Ino was the notable exception, but then again, it was hard to tell whether the two females were best friends or worst enemies at times.

Kakashi himself found it slightly uncomfortable that _he_ had entered a civilian pub of all places, but that was beside the point.

Ambling over to Sakura, Kakashi plunked himself down beside her and ordered a beer. Sakura turned her head and smiled at him, greeting him with the usual, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi gave her his eye-crinkling smile. He took a gulp of the beer that had just been placed in front of him and asked, "So, why are you alone in here?"

Sakura shrugged and turned around, idly watching the bartender hastily wipe at a tankard of beer that had overflowed and spilled. "I _was_ with Naruto and Sasuke, but you know what they say – two's company but three's a crowd."

Kakashi nodded in understanding – Naruto and Sasuke's relationship wasn't exactly recent news. Sakura had been happy for them, and had admitted that it was probably easier losing Sasuke to a male rather than to another girl – it was clear that nothing she could have done would have gotten her Sasuke if said male happened to like other males.

"Wasn't there anyone else you could be with?" Kakashi asked, wondering what happened to the rest of her friends.

"Well, a lot of them are on that escort mission – you know, the one the daimyo had commissioned. And of the ones who are still here, Ino-pig's out with her latest fling and Hinata has to get ready for the whole Branch merging ceremony in two weeks," Sakura explained.

"I see," Kakashi murmured.

"How about you, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, turning back to Kakashi. "Why are _you_ all alone tonight?"

"Hm? Well, I _was_ at the regular place with Genma but then some ANBU chick started making kissy faces across the room at him. He was obviously interested, so I left the two of them to their own devices," Kakashi answered, a slightly amused expression hidden by his mask.

Sakura rolled her eyes good-naturedly and lifted her drink. "Well, Kakashi-sensei, what do you say we drink to us loners?"

Kakashi gave his eye-crease again, and replied, "Why not?"

"To us," Sakura declared, clashing her cup against his bottle.

"To us," Kakashi agreed.

And then they realized that, maybe, two _was _company.

* * *


	11. News letter

**Title:** Waiting  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi x Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme: **#2 – news; letter **  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **I actually have no idea why I never posted this one (or the next one) - they have both been sitting in my hard drive for months (since I first picked up the KakaSaku claim over at LJ. So basically, these ones are older, and I think, not as good as my newer ones. But that's just me. Yay for another double post?

* * *

Sakura hadn't heard from him in months. No one from Konoha had managed to get any news about his team since they had left on that mission. The mission that should've taken only two weeks had now stretched into three months. 

From numerous reconnaissance missions, Sakura had gathered enough information to suspect the Akatsuki had been in the area where their mission had taken place.

But the facts remained – there were no bodies, yet there was plenty of evidence of battle.

And when no bodies are found, hope is found. Sakura hung onto the last shred of hope like it was the only thing keeping her alive. Because it was. _He_ was the only thing keeping her alive. He was her reason of living.

He had said to her, time and time again, that no matter what, he would come back to her. When she was younger, and he was still her teacher, he would say that to her when they were in an unfamiliar village, and he needed to get supplies. And she believed him.

When she was in her late teens and one of the people he could call a friend, he would awkwardly say that before going on long missions. She never doubted him.

By the time they had gotten together on her twentieth birthday, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to tell her that every time they went on separate missions. She knew he would never fail her.

Even now, Sakura refused to believe that Kakashi would fail her.

Because he was the only one who understood that if she experienced any more failure, and Sakura would break.

Her entire life had been marred by failure.

Her parents failed her by telling her she wasn't cut to be a kunoichi.

Throughout her entire childhood, she had been viewed as an aspiring kunoichi with no talent at all – a failure, in other words.

Her inability to keep the boy she thought she had loved in her village had been a rather personal failure.

Her inability to bring that same boy back had also been a rather personal failure.

Her failure to reconcile with her parents before they passed on was a failure she would never get over.

But Kakashi had never failed her. Yet. And she was sure he wasn't about to. He loved her too much to do that. He had said it himself.

_I love you, Sakura._

She loved him too.

So now she stands on top of the hill, looking towards the blood-red sunset. She is waiting; waiting for news, any sign of him. Whether it will break her or make her day, it doesn't matter.

But just for luck, she blows a kiss in the direction he left in, just in case the wind could somehow bring it to him and tell him she is thinking of him. Because if he knows that, she knows he will find his way home.

* * *


	12. Our Own World

**Title:** Last Dance  
**Author/Artist**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #8 – our own world  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto and co, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **I didn't put this in the last a/n, but yeah, school's almost upon us (me) once again...which completely sucks. But I just know I'm going to have a tough year, so I hope you guys won't mind too much if I don't post as often. Don't get me wrong, I definitely WILL finish this 30 drabble claim - it's just a matter of time. So no worries, I won't die on you :D

* * *

Sakura's eighteenth birthday featured a huge bash at the local shinobi pub, planned in its entirety by her best friend and at times, worst enemy, Yamanaka Ino.

The whole affair was actually quite tasteful, considering the party venue. At a spacious, yet rather secluded corner of the club, Sakura sat, surrounded by friends and colleagues alike, with piles of present here and there – Sakura had gotten _quite_ popular within the village.

Between opening presents and eating and dancing and receiving free drinks from unknown shinobi who blew kisses at her, Sakura was having the time of her life. She was a gracious birthday girl (woman), full of smiles and never hesitant to accept dancing invitations and the like.

And so when it was time for the last dance of the night (or rather, morning), no one disagreed with her choice of a dance partner. After all, there was nothing wrong with dancing with one's own sensei, just for old time's sake, right?

So they danced; danced under the dim bar lights, swaying gently to the lilting, slightly sad melody – his large hands around her slim waist while her smaller hands rested on his broad shoulders.

And it didn't matter that Sakura was almost a head shorter than him, or that pink and grey simply didn't match, or that he was fourteen years older than her, because no matter how any of the guests looked at it, it seemed like they were lost in their own world. In those precious four minutes it took for the jazzy song to play, it was like only Sakura and Kakashi existed. Only them.

They could feel it – that _something_ in the air that threatened to completely overflow in their hearts. And when Sakura – that stubborn girl – and Kakashi – the man constantly in denial – could feel it too, they knew it was real.

* * *


	13. Jolt!

**Title:** Dreams  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Hatake Kakashi/Haruno Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #3 – jolt!  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and never will.

**a/n: **I finally got off my lazy ass and updated. Sorry for the delay :P

* * *

_"Sakura…"_

_He kept moving forward and she took step after step backwards, until her back hit the rough surface of the wall. His palms ended up on the wall on either side of her pink head, effectively preventing any escape she might have had in mind. She just didn't understand why he was doing this._

"_Kakashi-sensei…"_

_He lowered his head until their noses nearly touched. Looking at her through hooded eyes, he whispered, "Don't tell me you don't feel it."_

"_F-feel what?" she asked, her eyes closing of their own volition. _

_One gloved hand went to his mask and he pulled it down achingly slowly, until the entirety of his face was revealed to her partially open gaze. _

"_This," he whispered, and without further hesitation, he pressed his lips to hers…_

Sakura awoke with a jolt and immediately wished that she hadn't. And then she realized exactly what she had just thought and shook her head furiously, trying to rid herself of the mental images her dream had stirred up.

He was her _teacher_, for crying out loud! Well…_ex-_teacher was more appropriate, and they were in the same rank now, but _still_. There were just some lines one did not cross. Even in when in Dreamland.

But try as she might, Sakura couldn't erase the image of his unmasked face, his lips, his hooded gaze, smouldering with barely suppressed passion. It was as if he was so close she could smell that comforting, masculine scent that was just _Kakashi_; so close that she could feel his slightly chapped lips upon her own glossed ones. As if she could feel the pounding of his heart underneath her hands-

Sakura buried her head in her pillow and groaned.

* * *


	14. Gardenia

**Title:** Remembrance  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #11 - gardenia  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto and co, no matter how much I want to.

* * *

"Fancy seeing you here."

She turns to face her ex-sensei, a small smile on her face, a small bunch of flowers in her ungloved hands.

"I'd like to say that the same goes to you," she begins, and then she turns back to the headstone in front of her. "But I know better."

He gives a small chuckle and replies, "True."

A moment passes in silence until he finally asks the question.

"How long ago?"

She doesn't answer for a moment, but slowly bends down and places the bunch of gardenias on the dark gray stone, slowing running a slender finger along the words etched on its surface.

Abruptly standing up again, she answers him.

"Today is the fifth year."

He absorbs that fact before opening his mouth again.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

She smiles again, a sad one. Shaking her head slightly, she answers, "Sasuke had gone, Naruto had gone, you were gone…everyone else had their lives to go on with. They knew but somehow, it just never occurred to me to tell you guys."

She fidgets with the hem of her skirt-like apparel sheepishly.

"By the time we saw each other again, I was busy trying to prove myself to you and Naruto, and then Gaara-san got into taken by the Akatsuki. And then there was more Akatsuki drama and then, before I knew it, several years had passed."

He nods and sighs, hands stuck in his pocket like they always were when he was here.

"I'm sorry."

She looks away from the headstone and stares at him. "Whatever for?"

"Not being there when you needed me the most."

Her smile turns slightly wistful as she replies. "You may have been my sensei, but even you are only human."

_I understand. It was a tough time for all of us._

"No, not only then," he insists. "I was your jounin sensei, I should have been able to see that hidden potential in you."

"Yeah, probably," she agrees. "But you didn't. And really, it's alright. I would never have went to Tsunade-shishou if you had anyways, right?"

He snorts and says, "Yeah."

Her jade gaze turns curious as she asks, "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, I never got to ask you. Who are _you_ here for?"

He wordlessly gestures for her to follow him and she does so without question. They end up in front of the memorial stone, the large, black object that Kakashi had spent so much of his life in front of.

They are quiet for several moments, as if praying for the departed souls whose names were engraved upon the rock.

He lifts a hand and points to a name near the middle-left of the rock.

"My best friend."

Sakura's gaze follows his friend and comes upon the name – Uchiha Obito.

She is surprised, to say the least, but is quickly able to draw the connection between this particular Uchiha and Kakashi's transplanted Sharingan. She wasn't Konoha's top medic-nin for nothing.

She, too, lifts her hand and traces the name with the finger, and their fingertips meet for the briefest of moments. And then both hands drop but their respective owners continue to stare at the memorial.

As the rays of the setting sun lightly kiss the skin of her cheeks, Sakura realizes exactly how long she has stood in front of the memorial. And she finally understands why Kakashi is habitually late. It is hard for her to tear her eyes away from all those who had given their lives in their service to Konoha. And yet, it filled her with such a sense of pride that these fighters were from _her_ village.

She smiles widely, and just for a moment, it is as if the worries of the world have been erased. She looks up at him and finds him looking at her. She smiles, and he returns it, giving her that familiar and comforting eye-crinkle that he always does.

"Wanna go for ramen, sensei?"

"Of course."

* * *


	15. In a Good Mood

**Title:**What's Passed  
**Author/Artist**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura**  
Fandom:** Naruto**  
Theme:** #12 – in a good mood**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

Sometimes, she thinks back to the time when they were "us". Back to the time when he was found where she was and she was found where he was. When she had still been a woman-child and he was – and still is, a jaded man, worldly and tired of that fact. 

But then she looks into her husband's smiling face and hears her young child's laughter and knows that the choice she had made, whether it was good or bad, was _right_ for her.

True, the time she spent with him was going to stay in her memories forever. He was – still is, an irreplaceable friend. Maybe even more, but she tried not to think about what could have been. After all, what's done is done, and there is no going back.

When he passes her on the crowded streets of their hometown, sometimes he will wave. Other times he is so immersed in that erotic novel he still reads that he simply passes her without acknowledging her. Sometimes she thinks she can see the shadow of a smile behind that mask when their eyes meet.

But every single time, her eyes dart to the ground and she hurries her child along as she passes him. Regardless of the fact he is an "irreplaceable friend", she still cannot find the will to hold his gaze, afraid of what she might see there.

It is rather immature of her to do so – even she admits it. But it is the only way she can keep the promise she made to herself.

When the two of them parted ways all those years ago, she swore that from then on, no matter what choices, what decisions she would make in the future, she would never, _ever_ regret them. Because too much of her life had already been spent regretting things she had, or hadn't done. She needed to move on from that part of her life. Take everything as a lesson and continue forward.

It worked.

She found a man – civilian, who understood the hazards of being a kunoichi and yet still was able to let her go when she needed to. He had a gentle smile and soft hands, always ready to hold hers should she want him to.

She got married. She had a child. She built the life that she had always wanted but never thought she would have.

But still, on stormy nights when her husband was quietly snoring beside her and her child was calm, she would think back to the time when a different man held her in his arms, when a different man pressed kisses to her neck at night, when a different man graced her with his eye-crinkling smile.

And when morning came and the sun came out, slowly drying the wet ground, Sakura would go out and walk, passing Kakashi right in front of the dango stand more often than not. And maybe next time those sunny mornings come, and she is in a good mood, she will look at him and smile.


	16. Road Home, Make You Mine

**Title:** When He Returns  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura, Sasuke/Sakura, blink-and-you-miss-it Kakashi/Rin (harhar, first time writing one of _these_)  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #20 – the road home, #26 – if only I could make you mine  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and co, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Double post! (and the next one isn't even on lj yet :O)

* * *

It didn't surprise him when she ran back to Sasuke when the boy-turned-man came back to Konoha years later. No, it didn't surprise him, but it sure did hurt him.

He wasn't even that mad at her. He was angrier with himself, for forcing something they both knew would never work out. She had warned him – she really had. When, two years ago, they had both been unable to ignore the growing attraction between themselves, she had told him – no matter how bad it sounded, she knew if ever _he_ came back, she would likely be unable to keep herself from running back to him. She had been _so_ reluctant, willing to repress her own desire for him in order to save him from future heartbreak, because she _knew_ exactly how much each man meant to her.

He meant the world to her.

It's just that Sasuke meant the universe, that's all.

Kakashi said he didn't care, wouldn't mind, and then the conversation was over when he kissed her and all she could do was reciprocate his advances.

And they were _so_ happy. They really were. For two years it was just Kakashi and Sakura – they lived together, trained together, laughed together, reminisced together, _grew_ together. Yet night after night Kakashi would hold her in his arms, waiting for that inevitable day when Sasuke came back.

Because if it was one thing Kakashi understood about Sasuke, it was that his family of teammates meant more to him than anything – Sasuke was too much like Kakashi for Kakashi to not understand that. And knowing that, Kakashi knew it was only a matter of time before Sasuke came back. And he told himself he would be ready for it, ready to let her go.

But he_hadn't_ been ready for it, _hadn't _been willing to let her go, and now stands broken as a result.

It is Sasuke's turn to be _oh-so-happy_ with the woman he had always loved, while Kakashi can only stand aside and wish that he could make Sakura his own.

But in the end, the only thing Kakashi can do is pick up the broken pieces of his heart, stitch them back together raggedly the way Rin had taught him so long ago, and trudge along the road that led back home, his path illuminated only by the flickering streetlights above.


	17. Invincible, unrivalled

**Title:**Alone**  
Author/Artist: **kasenshiki**  
Pairing:**Kakashi/Sakura**  
Fandom: **Naruto**  
Theme: **#16 – invincible, unrivalled**  
Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **I'm on a roll :) Still angst, just for those who get depressed when I write angst. Sorry. I promise there's fluff coming up. And there's a spoiler on the identity of the Yondaime, so beware!

* * *

The days are peaceful around here now – birds chirping, leaves rustling, children playing; these are the sounds of the near-perfect village named Konoha. The shinobi village was thriving quite well under its Rokudaime, a man of honour and loyalty, highly respected by all. 

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon when he decided to take a walk outside the stifling Hokage Tower, dressed only in normal jounin clothes with the familiar slouch in his gait. He waved and smiled at everyone, imprinting the endearing eye-crease into many a villager's mind.

He stopped when he reached his destination and stood up straighter, eye fixed on a point near the top of the huge stone structure.

And he stared, and he stared, and he stared. And if you looked closely, you would be able to see the slightly clenching and unclenching of fists in his pockets. But only if you looked _very_ closely – otherwise, he seemed normal as he always was.

When the sun began its descent towards the horizon, he opened his mouth to speak.

"You weren't supposed to die."

His voice is hoarse, as if choking on some sort of pent-up emotion.

"You," his hand comes up to point at that name, "were NOT supposed to die."

He is talking faster and faster now, his volume increasing with the intensity of his bubbling anger, disappointment, and sorrow. The memory of her retreating back burns in his mind – the way she looked at him, the way she smiled when she turned her back to fight that war, the way he felt her last kiss, blown to him from wherever she was.

"You were one-third of what was widely considered to be Konoha's invincible team, completely unrivalled in all aspects, so powerful yet so compassionate – _why_ did you go and die on me?"

His hand slowly lowers and comes back up again cover his eyes – whether to shield them from the sun or otherwise, only he knows. He sighs and rubs his face tiredly.

"First Sasuke went, and then Naruto went, and then you went," he continues, slowly descending upon his knees as he speaks. "And before that Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama left. And even before that was Minato-sensei, and Rin, and Obito."

He laughs weakly. "I have no one left, Sakura."

"I'm alone."

* * *


	18. Cradle

**Title:**Putting It Together**  
Author/Artist: **nostalgic-maiden**  
Pairing: **Kakashi/Sakura**  
Fandom:**Naruto**  
Theme: **#22 – cradle **  
Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n:**Part I of Halloween special :) Well, there's no mention of Halloween _yet_, but you'll see. Major fluff ahead!

* * *

"Really, Kakashi, how hard can it _be_?" Sakura sat next to her toiling husband, a precious bundle sleeping soundly in her arms. She sighed tiredly and continued. "You're a _jounin_ for crying out loud, an _ex-ANBU_ too – how hard can it be do put the cradle together?" 

He grunted in answer, looking at the crumpled diagram and turning it upside-down in an effort to figure out where piece A met piece B. He _knew_ he should have started on this earlier (like _before_ Sakura gave birth), but just didn't find the time to. After all, catering to a pregnant and terribly hormonal Sakura (whose fists still packed a punch even though she was eight months pregnant) was a full-time job, just as demanding as an ANBU mission. On bad days, he preferred the ANBU missions to Sakura's constant mood swings.

Sakura shook her head and decided to ignore him in favour of the newborn in her arms. The infant was the perfect union of the two, silver-haired and rosy-cheeked – absolutely charming in most of Konoha's eyes. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata just could not stop cooing over him, and even Temari looked on with interested eyes. Naruto was something else altogether, lifting the baby up in his arms and whirling around and around, gleefully saying, "I'm a godfather! I'm a godfather!"

Sasuke and Sai had merely looked at each other and then back at the blond before saying, in unison, "So are we." And then Sai neatly tripped Naruto while the baby was whisked smoothly into Sasuke's arms, not even knowing that he had changed hands.

Of course, Sakura didn't take nicely to that and the three males were swiftly ordered out of the room while the little one was tucked safely back into his mother's hold. Godfathers or not, Sakura didn't need three annoying and loud (in Naruto's case) teammates by her side, hindering her recovery.

As Kakashi slaved away, Sakura played with their son, cooing and laughing and planting kisses to his chubby face. Kakashi sighed, knowing full well that Sakura was _not_ going to help him, although it was clear to them both that Sakura's analytical skills would have been oh-so-useful in this situation.

But as he watched Sakura interact so happily with his son, he couldn't help but smile. After all, things _could _have been worse. Privately, he thanked whatever higher power there was out there that his son did not inherit his mother's pink hair.

* * *


	19. Fence, Dash

**Title:** Going For Candy  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #9 – dash, #25 – fence  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Part II of Halloween special :)

* * *

"Aw, mom…" the young boy groaned, obviously unhappy with the arrangements his mother had made for him. 

"Don't make that face at me, young man," Sakura admonished, ruffling her son's unruly silver hair.

"But I don't _wanna_ go with Shikako and Inori," he persisted. "They're both _girls_! I wanna go with Naruto-ojichan and Sasuke-ojichan and Sai-ojichan!"

Sakura sighed. "Honey, Naruto and Sasuke are out on a mission, and Sai is locked up in his apartment with his drawings. You know how he's like when a sudden inspiration hits him – he won't come out unless someone's dying…"

"Actually, he probably wouldn't come out at all, regardless of the situation…" Sakura said in an afterthought. The young boy made a face and crossed his arms, a pout evident on his round face. He leaned farther into the fence and turned his head away from her.

"Now now, going out for candy with Shikako-chan and Inori-chan might not be that bad," Sakura placated. "They might be girls, but they're in the Academy, just like you – they're not the whiny girls you see on the street everyday."

"Shikako is alright, I guess," he grumbled. "But Inori is _so annoying_! All she does is talk really fast about girly stuff and giggle whenever Shin walks by and says 'hi' to me."

Sakura laughed lightly, utterly amused by the thought of Ino's daughter having a crush on Neji's younger son. It wasn't poor Inori's fault that Shin looked so much like his rather handsome father.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when two blond-haired women stepped into view, each hand-in-hand with their respective child.

"Ino-chan, Temari-chan," Sakura warmly greeted. Turning to the young girls, she smiled and said, "Shikako-chan, Inori-chan."

"Sakura-chan!" the two girls let go of their mothers' hands and ran to Sakura, each one hugging her around the waist. Sakura laughed and patted their heads while her son merely slouched and sullenly muttered, "That's _my_ mom."

Ino giggled and Temari lightly teased him, saying, "Well, isn't _someone_ jealous?"

"You three better get going if you want to get any candy at all," Ino said, looking at her watch. "We saw Kiba's kids on the way here and I'm pretty sure one of Neji's kids was already knocking."

At the mention of candy, the three kids stopped, looked at each other, and dashed away, eager for their share of candy from the civilians, while all three mothers yelled, "BE BACK HERE AT EIGHT!"

Sakura chatted with the two women for a while, but when the two of them left, she turned around and said, "Kakashi, you can come out now."

Said male appeared, ambling forward to put an arm around her shoulder. Sakura elbowed him lightly, saying, "Why'd you teleport away once I mentioned that Ino and Temari would be bringing their girls?"

"Because as soon as they see me, they'll try to talk me into telling Chouji and Shikamaru to stop eating and stop being so lazy. Respectively," Kakashi deadpanned.

Sakura laughed and hugged him. "You're such a silly man."

"They really _would_," he insisted. "They've _done_ it before!"

"I know, I know," she smiled, letting him go. "Well now, we have nearly two hours to ourselves…"

"We should put the time to good use, don't you say?" he asked, giving her an eye-creasing smile before planting a kiss on her lips and teleporting the two of them away.


	20. Pillage or Plunder, Excessive Chain

**Title:** Don't Forget About Me  
**Author:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme: **#21 - violence; pillage/plunder; extortion; #13 - excessive chain  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n:** English class depresses me. (And yes, that was a subtle angst warning). Blame my English teacher.

* * *

It was a tradition among the kunoichi of Konoha. They've all been there before - Anko and Tsunade and Kurenai and Yuugao, and now, it is Ino and Sakura's turn. 

The two women wordlessly acknowledged each other and walked together, silently, unwilling to break the quiet serenity between them, to the most peaceful spot in all of war-torn Konoha.

It was lucky for the two of them that Tsunade was as sentimental as they were. It was rare that two high-ranking kunoichi like themselves would have a whole day off during such dark times – times where entire civilian villages would be plundered and burned to the ground, where not even strong shinobi villages like Konoha or Suna could promise safety and survival.

Sakura held three single roses in her hands – pink for her sunshine, yellow for her rain, and deep, blood red for her love.

Ironically, Ino's hands were devoid of flowers. Instead, the young blonde held a huge, homemade bento, a box of opened cigarettes, and a shougi board.

The pink-haired woman carefully placed the pink flower down, and then the yellow one, and then, after slight hesitation, the red one. As Sakura retreated from the memorial, Ino came up, and emptying her arms, reached into her pocket and took out a cigarette lighter. She lit two cigarettes and placed them beside the flowers, careful not to light up the delicate petals and leaves.

Ino looked up at Sakura and smiled. Sakura felt her own mouth stretch into a smile as well; it had been a while since she and Ino had gotten to really sit together and talk.

It was Ino who broke the silence first.

"Remember how we used to fight over Sasuke?"

Sakura chuckled, setting herself down in front of the stone, helping Ino set up the shougi board.

"Yeah, I do. Remember how you used to tell me how I was terrible with arranging flowers?"

Ino laughed, placing her finger on a piece. Moving it up, she answered, "Yes, and you know it was true. Do you remember how Lee-san would spout poems of love and devotion to you all day while Naruto tried to beat him up and shut his mouth?"

"Yes, I do." Sakura paused, pondering her next move. After sliding her piece to the side, she continued, "Do you remember how you used to glare daggers at any girl who got remotely close to Chouji or Shikamaru?"

Ino snorted. "That didn't stop Temari."

Sakura shook her head. "No, it didn't."

The two played in silence for several more minutes before Sakura spoke.

"Do you remember how you always yelled at Asuma-san because of his habit of excessive chain smoking?"

"I do," Ino replied, sighing as she realized that Sakura's piece blocked her move. She looked up. "Remember how you would yell at Kakashi-san every time he was late to your practices?"

Sakura's finger paused on top of a piece. After a beat, she placed the finger down and replied, "Yes, I do."

They didn't say anymore.

At three in the afternoon, Ino lost spectacularly and called it a day, packing up the shougi board and the empty bento box, which they had finished sometime around Sakura's first victory. She had to pick up her daughter from the Academy anyway, and wasn't three-thirty the dismissal time? The two women could hardly remember – it had been so long since Ino had had to pick up her daughter by herself anyway.

Sakura watched as Ino's figure retreated into the distance, and then turned back to the memorial.

Running her fingers affectionately along the three names she always focused on, she allowed the memories she usually tucked away to surface, bringing herself back to the times when Team 7 still had members, back to the time when her three boys (or men, if you would prefer that) were still with her, fighting alongside her in the war.

Sakura wasn't stupid – she knew she was living on borrowed time. The war was going to end soon, she knew – and it wouldn't be Konoha's victory. They would be lucky if the civilians and children would be allowed to go free, instead of serving the enemy as slaves. But if Gaara - and Suna, fell any time soon, then even _that_ hope would be dashed, and all would be lost.

But Sakura pushed that thought from her mind as her fingers continued to move from one name to another. Her gaze settled on the first name.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

With a small, wistful smile, she gently kissed the spot where his name had been carved. She moved on to the next name.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

As with Sasuke, she smiled and pressed a fond kiss to his name. She reached the last name.

_Hatake Kakashi_

Her lips had barely touched the stone before the trail of tears began falling.

_I miss you._

* * *


	21. RadioCassette Player

**Title**: Promises  
**Author/Artist**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing**: Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom**: Naruto  
**Theme**: #14 – radio-cassette player  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n:** Double post again :)

* * *

"You broke it," Sakura stated, her disbelief evident on her features. 

Naruto cowered and shakily replied, "Ehh, I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan…"

"You_broke_ it," she repeated, anger starting to cloud her mind.

That was_her_ radio-cassette player, dammit! She had gotten it just a month ago from her parents. She hadn't even _known_ that Naruto had borrowed it until he came up to her with his hands behind his back and a guilty and fearful expression on his face.

"I'm sooooooo sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise!" he pleaded. At her stony expression, he continued, "Please Sakura-chan, I'll – I'll take you out for ramen-"

The ominous sound of her knuckles cracking caused him to break into a cold sweat. This was worse than the time Sai had stolen her first kiss because he wanted to "know what a kiss felt like". And _that_ was saying something. Because Sai had spent three weeks in the hospital after that. Reckless he was, Naruto _did _value his life quite a lot.

Sakura pounced; Naruto cringed.

She had successfully grabbed Naruto by the collar when a calm, pleasant voice called out, "Sakura."

Said kunoichi slowly and menacingly turned around.

Kakashi gave her a smile and asked, "What did he do _this _time?" He could see the simmering rage that was threatening to overwhelm her already clouded mind, but Kakashi really _was _curious as to what had incited her wrath.

He could only make out an unintelligible grunt from Naruto before Sakura turned back to her target, murder flashing in her green eyes.

"Come now, Sakura, control yourself," Kakashi gently chided, attempting to pry her fingers from Naruto's neck.

She made no move to release her grip on Naruto. Kakashi sighed and said, "I'll bbuy you a new one, just let him go."

Sakura dropped him. Naruto gasped for air, lying on the group pitifully.

She crossed her arms. "What makes you think I'll believe you?"

Kakashi laughed. "Ah, when have I ever broken a promise to you, Sakura?"

One pink eyebrow went up.

_Okay, that was the wrong thing to say,_ Kakashi mentally cursed at himself. There were all those times he said he would go to training but ended up going three hours late. And then there were the times he didn't go at all because _Icha Icha _was just more interesting. Those were the small things too – there were big things like telling her everything happening between the members of Team 7 would turn out okay but finding out that Sasuke had defected from Konoha just a day later.

Yep, that was definitely the wrong thing to say.

Sakura's target seemed to have changed; her eyes held a predatory gleam as she slowly stalked towards the rapidly retreating Kakashi.

"Well, sensei," she just about purred, her sugary tone masking her outright fury, "I'm am going to _make sure_ that you don't break this promise."

He ran.

She chased.

* * *


	22. Goodnight

**Title:** Bedtime for Little Boys  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #24 – goodnight  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n:** Belongs to the same universe as the Hallowe'en ones.

* * *

"And so, the blonde-haired Hokage managed to seal the big, bad Kyuubi into the crying baby, and all of Konoha was saved." 

The little boy yawned widely and snuggled deeper into the covers. Sakura smiled and shifted slightly, gently patting her son on the head.

"Did you like that story?" she asked softly. He nodded his head and slowly replied, "Uh huh."

"Well, it's time to go to sleep now," Kakashi said, from his place on his son's other side. The child nodded and yawned again, his little fists rubbing at tired eyes.

"G'night, mommy," he murmured, turning towards his father and curling closer to the warmth the older man emitted.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Sakura whispered, planting a fond kiss on his silver brow.

A tiny snore told the parents that their son was blissfully asleep. The two shared a quiet laugh at their young son's ability to fall asleep in five seconds flat.

Looking up from the slumbering child, Kakashi turned his hooded gaze towards the pink-haired female.

"Bedtime for mommy too, isn't it?" he asked.

Sakura had to muffle her chuckle with the puppy-printed covers. "It's only seven, you silly man."

Kakashi made a show of turning around to check the clock on the bedside table behind him.

"Ah, so it is," he said. Facing Sakura again, he asked, "So, what do you propose we do, hm?"

Sakura smirked.

* * *


	23. Superstar

**Title**: Found  
**Author**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing**: Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom**: Naruto  
**Theme**: #7 - superstar

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Sorry for the delay! Writers' block is a beeeeyooootttchhhhh!!!!

* * *

Sometimes, when Sakura was especially tired or frustrated, she wished that she didn't have the talent that the village tended to rave about, especially after missions that required her expertise. But then her thoughts would turn to her precious boys, all of whom were safely back within the walls of Konoha, and she would take that thought back. After all, if she hadn't been blessed with the talents that she possessed, she would have continued to be a burden to Team 7. And if that had happened, they would never have managed to successfully convince Sasuke to return to Konoha.

Looking at how Naruto was well on his way to becoming Hokage, and how Sasuke was slowly beginning to heal all those wounds inside himself, Sakura was grateful.

But still, it was true that she tended to be the most over-worked of Team 7, whether one was talking about the new Team 7 or the old one. Being a medic-nin, not only was she expected to participate in all the missions her team was assigned (and mind you, being _**the**_ Team 7, they were in high demand), she also had to complete a certain amount of hours at the hospital as a part of her training – just because she had become a successful medic-nin didn't mean that her learning stopped there.

And all those hours clocked at the hospital meant less and less time to take care of her love life.

She wished it wasn't so, but the truth was that most mornings, she barely had time to drop a kiss on the cheek of her man before running out the door to the hospital, and even when they had missions the two of them tried to keep it as professional as possible – their relationship still wasn't completely accepted by the folk in the village, and they didn't want to add upon the things that the civilians would gossip about.

It wasn't hard to understand Sakura's sentiments about the matter – all around her, her friends were able to be freely with the ones they loved without worrying about other obligations or people talking about them. Ino and Tenten freely paraded their boyfriends around, and Hinata's belonged to her family and was her self-appointed protector, so even the busy soon-to-be heir of the Hyuuga clan saw her lover more than Sakura saw hers. Naruto and Sasuke were satisfied as long as they had each other to fight with, Sai barely understood the concept of love, and Yamato had his own crowd of ANBU friends.

Perhaps that was what had drawn Sakura to Kakashi in the first place – when everything had been said and done, it seemed that everyone had found someone else to lean on, but Sakura still couldn't find solace within her team. While she never doubted Naruto's love for her, or for Sasuke's distant but unfailing care for her, her relationship with them could never compare to the bonds they held with each other – it was no one's fault, just something that Sakura had accepted as she had grown up.

And that was when she realized that Kakashi was exactly the same. Both of them had spent so much time, so much energy, and basically placed their entire life's purpose into finding Sasuke, and now that he was found, they were both at a lost.

What do they do now?

When the thing, when the dream that had been sustaining them for so long has been finally achieved, how do you go on?

Neither of them had the capacity to get down to Sasuke's level the way that Naruto could. And while their team was so busy running after their prodigal teammate, the rest of the world kept moving. Everyone kept moving, and at the end of it all, Sakura still found herself left behind, with only her tired and battered sensei beside her.

And that was how they found each other.

On most days when she woke up, she wondered how life would be like for the two of them if she wasn't _Haruno Sakura_ and if he wasn't_Hatake Kakashi_. If they were just Sakura and just Kakashi.

But if she hadn't been Haruno Sakura (that pink-haired girl with the volatile temper, fists of fury, a heart bigger than the sky and medical skills to back it up) and he hadn't been Hatake Kakashi (that genius ninja with the implanted Sharingan, perverted reading tastes, and loyalty that was unsurpassed) they wouldn't have met.

And as long and hard as their story together has been, there wouldn't have_been_ a story in the first place had they not met.

With that knowledge, Sakura knew that she would be able to survive her crazy lifestyle and be able to reach for him every night with a smile and a heartfelt, "I'm home."

* * *


	24. Say Ahh

**Title**: Can You Taste the Poison?  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing**: Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom**: Naruto  
**Theme**: #18 – "say ahh…"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Not quite satisfied with this, but whatever. I'll be absent for a while, and I needed to fulfill the bi-monthly posting rule for 30kisses. Either way, please enjoy!

* * *

He wanted to ask her the question – she could feel in hanging in the tension between them. Shaking her bubblegum bangs out of her way, she took it upon herself to answer his unspoken question.

"If I had a choice, I would have never accepted this mission."

He nodded, understanding the meaning behind her words. She sighed, pausing in her packing.

"It's just that they need the scroll right away. If it wasn't like that, she would've waited for Ino to come back instead of sending a sub-standard kunoichi like me," she continued, a tiny bubble of sardonic laughter coming up at her last words.

"You're not a sub-standard kunoichi," he stated. She looked up for the first time since their conversation started, and gave him a small smile.

"You know what I mean."

He did. Understand what she meant, that is. Sakura was simply not cut out for missions like these – missions that included problems that couldn't be solved with chakra-infused punches and kicks, but with subtle glances and honeyed conversations. Ino, on the other hand, may not have had the physical strength and tactical abilities that Sakura had, but she was something else when she pulled out her seductress card – Ino was one of the few kunoichi from Konoha who could actually have top-secret information teased out of a man without even showing more than her collarbones and her magenta-painted toes. She had _that_ much charm and natural sex appeal.

Sakura, on the other hand, would be lucky if she would be able to get the information from the scroll tonight without having to resort to drugging her target. She just hadn't been able to pick up on the subtleties of being a kunoichi in _that_ particular way.

Carefully zipping up her pack and hefting it on her shoulder, Sakura straightened up and looked him in the eye.

"Don't worry," she smiled. "I'll come back."

He didn't answer her, but instead pulled down his mask and planted a swift but sweet kiss on her cheek before the mask was instantly up again.

It was enough for her.

She didn't look back as she walked towards the Hokage Tower to report in for duty.

And that night, Sakura sat on the edge of her stool, high heels resting stiffly against the shiny tiles of the floor, slowly coaxing her target into saying, "Ahh…" for her as she dangled a luscious-looking chocolate-covered strawberry in front of his smoky eyes.

He was down even before he could taste the bitter poison coating the perfect strawberry.

* * *


	25. kHz

**Title:** Never Enough  
**Author/Artist:** nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing:** Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Theme:** #17 – kHz (kilohertz)

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **I hate using ellipsis, but this will have to be the exception. Oh, and hooray for double-post!! (The fact that I just failed a physics test made me angsty._ Really_ angsty.)

* * *

_Every girl has her limit, Kakashi._

That was what she had said when she left roughly a month ago.

And even until now, Kakashi didn't quite understand what she meant. It was true that _he_ was the one who had taught his students to _look underneath the underneath_, but it seemed to him that he had taught _this_ particular student a little _too_ well. Of course, it may have been the fact that she had largely been taught by someone who had _not_ been him, but that was beside the point.

The point was that Sakura had been gone for a month and Kakashi still didn't know what to do.

One month later, and Kakashi still couldn't figure out where they had gone wrong. With Sakura, it was like fiddling around on the stations of a radio – sometimes you got static, but sometimes you got crystal clear sound. The problem was that he found it _so hard_ to be able to fiddle around until he got that crystal clear relationship with her, for lack of a better comparison. It seemed they did plenty enough of _fiddling around_ but never got around to the_crystal clear_ relationship part.

Oh sure, they did all the things couples did – those looks, those lingering touches, those kisses – but it was just never enough. Not for her, it wasn't.

She wanted true, passionate, unending love – and she had every right to want that. Of all people, she was possibly one of the only ones who had _every right _to want something like that.

But if it was the one thing he couldn't give, it was true, passionate, and unending love. Not that. Anything but that.

Because when he had still been able to truly, passionately and unendingly love someone, his father had died and then he began to live a downward spiraling lifestyle littered with broken memories and regrets.

Sasuke wasn't able to love truly, passionately, _or_ unendingly, so what made Sakura think _he_could? After all, he and that boy were so similar that the one who wrote their life stories was practically writing the same story.

That girl just had too many hopes, too many dreams, too many girlish ambitions, too much passion, determination, strength…too much _love_. She just _loved_ too much.

(And at the end of the day, Kakashi wondered whether there was a time when he loved too much, and decided that no, he had never loved _too_much, and that it was always _not enough_ when it came to himself.)

* * *


	26. The Sound of Waves

**Title**: Don't Go  
**Author/Artist**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing**: Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom**: Naruto  
**Theme**: #29 – the sound of waves

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

"I never imagined myself going this way," Sakura weakly whispered.

_Ah no, the sun's in my eye_, Kakashi thought to himself, from the window seat beside her bed.

"I always thought it'd be something heroic or meaningful, something people might just talk about when I had already gone," she continued, a small sigh punctuating her slight regret.

_I can feel it burning_. Kakashi continued his internal commentary.

Stopping to regain her breath from the talking she had done just before, Sakura went on.

"And if hadn't been something heroic and meaningful, I thought I would have been old and wrinkly, surrounded by my kids and _their_ kids. Living together in a peaceful Konoha. Or maybe on a beach, far away, where the only sounds at night would be the sounds of waves. And we'd grow daffodils. Yeah, we'd grow a lot of those." Sakura smiled fondly at the fabricated memory.

_Ack, it's so bright now that the stupid eye is _watering_, of all things!_

"You would have been beside me, and when the kids were looking away, you'd steal kisses from me," Sakura softly laughed. "And then the youngest grandchild – a girl – would see, and you'd wink at her. She'd giggle and cover her eyes and I'd bat you away. That was the way it was supposed to go."

Sakura weakly turned her head towards the man who held her frail, frail hands gently between his own.

"It didn't quite turn out that way, did it, Kakashi?"

The chair scraped across the floor as he hurriedly let go of her hands and got up, turning around to look out the window so that Sakura wouldn't be able to see his face.

The brilliant sunlight pierced his eye, but it wasn't enough to trigger the emotional release he needed so badly.

"The sunset's beautiful today, Sakura," he breathed, his voice just as shaky as hers.

"Mm."

_(Don't leave me.)_

* * *


	27. Kiss

**Title**: Just Get It Over With  
**Author**/**Artist**: nostalgic-maiden  
**Pairing**: Kakashi/Sakura  
**Fandom**: Naruto  
**Theme**: #30 – kiss 

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**a/n: **Well guys, this is it. The 30th and last theme. Yes, I saved 'kiss' for last, because I'm sentimental like that. And no, this has absolutely NO ANGST. (Wow. That's gotta be a first.) 

It's been fun, I've learned and improved a lot, and I hope you all will enjoy this last one too! 

* * *

"Oh Lord, I never thought I'd be doing this," Sakura ruefully laughed, as Ino delicately dabbed some sheer lipstick on Sakura's pink lips.

"Shut up, Forehead, you're going to mess up my beautiful work," Ino retorted, more interested in whether there was an even coating of_stuff_ on Sakura's lips than what her friend had to say.

Sakura laughed again and conceded defeat – nothing could stop Ino once she was on a roll. And especially since it was Sakura's wedding day, Ino was sure to persist until the last detail was absolutely frickin' perfect. 

_I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this,_ was the only thing going through Sakura's head as she walked alone down the aisle. 

I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't-hey look! He's actually on time!

And so he was. There the bridegroom was, dutifully _on time_, his posture as slouched as ever as he waited at the Hokage's side. 

_Oh, that lazy bum. I told him to stand _straight_, at least for_thisSakura internally muttered. 

But Kakashi was forever doing things his own way, and would likely continue with that ideology of his. 

It was a little bit cute though, when Kakashi insisted that cracking eggs single-handedly with gloves on was a good idea because it guarded his hand from the gooey mess cracking eggs generally created. It was even cuter after he had cracked said egg when he realized that the gooey mess now rested on his glove. 

But apart from those cute moments, there was little more that could redeem him-_oh wait, is he wearing a tie? Oh yes, that's a tie. _

The ceremony was over before Sakura's internal tirade on how strangely attractive Kakashi looked with a tie on had ended, and she was jolted back to reality when slight pressure from Kakashi's hand alerted her to the fact that the crowd was looking very expectantly at the just-married pair.

_What just happened?_

_Oh right, we just got married…uh huh, okay, now what happens again? I can't quite remember for some reason…oh yeah, something about-_

"Oi, just kiss her and get it over with!" Ino yelled, shaking a fist agitatedly at the still-slouching man.

_Oh right, the married couple kisses-_

_Wait a second._

_That means us, doesn't it?_

In a second, the mask was down and Sakura couldn't quite understand what had happened to her ability to think properly. The next thing she knew, the crowd was hollering and catcalling and Kakashi was grinning like a cat underneath the mask.

_Oh Lord, that was nice. _Really_ nice._

* * *


End file.
